Irrigation Affordable Crop Cultivation
Our population is constantly increasing. With the provision of food to provide these growing people, the use of water in agriculture is increasing. 77% of the total irrigable land in Bangladesh is irrigated with ground water and 23% with surface water. As a result of overuse of groundwater, the water level is slowly going down. Therefore, it is time to cultivate irrigation affordable crops in agriculture. In our country, usually Aus, Aman and Boro paddy are cultivated. Boro season is entirely dependent on irrigation. Boro paddy production requires 3 to 5 thousand liters of water per kg depending on the soil. But Aus and Aman depend on rain. So it is necessary to increase the yield of Aus-Aman.
If crop beds can be prepared when floods occur in coastal areas, it will not need to be irrigated using extra water. Besides, we can save a lot of water from irrigation if we adopt a slightly different method from the usual method of cultivating other crops. Cultivation of pulses and vegetables in bed method saves 30% more water than usual. Drip irrigation system requires 30-40% less water than drain system. In case of floating cultivation of vegetables on water, it is not necessary to irrigate separately. In char areas where sandy soil is abundant, nuts, vegetables etc. can be cultivated without cultivating paddy.
Due to falling ground water level, unavailability of surface water and increasing amount of saline water, our farmers are facing various difficulties in irrigating their fields. Again, as a result of excessive irrigation, there is a crisis of usable fresh water. In that case, if we follow the mentioned methods, we will get benefits.
AfsanaRezoana Sultana
Department of Agronomy
Patuakhali Science & Technology University
